Maybe the problem is that crunchy liberals have been out of power for several breeding cycles? But it's not like the neo-con's Torture Me Elmo was a big hit, either. Maybe making toys that are simultaneously propagandistic and fun to play with is just too big a challenge for America.
Or maybe I'm just a crank who's heart was frozen down on the Mall yesterday, and this "Limited Edition Obama Airforce One Collectible Toy Plane, Made in Pennsylvania of domestic hardwoods, with non-toxic, lead-free paint and finish, as always" by Craftsbury Kids Holgate, and sold by Craftsbury Kids, would make the perfect gift.
Bitter wingnuts take note: the upside-down star in the toy plane's Air Force insignia is not actually The Sign of The Beast. It's an inclusive reminder that Obama wants to be the president of people who think he's the Anti-Christ, too.
New World Order now while supplies last! President Obama Air Force One Wood Toy Collectable, $18 [craftsburykids.com via dt reader sara]
post-complaint update: The Obama AF1 is also available directly from Holgate, the manufacturer, for the same price [holgatetoy.com]
The plane looks great, I ordered it--the company "Craftburykids"- sucks! POOR customer service---it's been a week, they have NO email, made repeated phone call (NO replies)- order keeps saying "pending" - NO notice that item was out of stock- can not get company to respond!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Web site says- shipping 2 to 3 days on orders- this is going over a week!!
-BEWARE-
wow, 3 days, and it's been a week? did you go to this page on the craftsburykids site that has an email address right in the middle of it, as well as instructions for calling during business hours for specific questions of availability?
If it's not out of stock, do you think it could be on the way? Do you think that a widely publicized handmade Obama toy might be popular at the moment?
If you're going to buy handmade toys from a tiny company run by a mother of six kids, you should chill the (&*# out about Amazon-style minute-to-minute order updates. And if what you're ordering is freakin' Obamabilia the week after his inauguration, you should chill out twice before thrashing a company's customer service and reputation online.
I called and called and called and finally found a place to send an email (NEVER got a reply)---the only reason I did get a call was I called the company (after another LONG search) that makes the plane (Holgate toys) I should have just bought it from them-it's cheaper with the shipping. Besides, I ordered another item from craftsbutykids--have YET to get it, it has been 12 days, I am only a few states away! After the call to Holgate (they said they would contact craftsburykids) I finally got a call from craftsburykids- with a long "song & dance" and how they blamed it on this and that and went on and on- thing is I still do not have my other item (could NOT get a straight answer as to when!)- but when I do get it (I had to say I was going to call the Better Business on them!)-I will contact the company that makes the other item and tell them. This is just a fly-by-night operation (craftsburykids)-they don't have the stuff in stock (a lie) and they send your order to who ever and hope it gets filled-not the way to do business! I even tried to check them out prior to us ordering and could not find anything negative, so we used them-NEVER again! The other item was a gift for a party (never got it in time)- the guy I spoke to at craftsburykids was filled with blame for other people and was a real waste.>>>>>>>BEWARE of this company
Don't kid yourself that is is a "family" type company---they don't even have the items (never did-told this directly by the company that makes the plane, they didn't seem to happy with them either)---3 calls over 6 days and no call back- that's NOT customer service--- I only got a call back AFTER Holgate contacted them!
I replied if you care to see--contact the company that makes the planes - Holgate Toys www.holgatetoy.com
they will tell you what a "great" company craftsburykids is!
"craftsburykids" has NO problem taking a credit card, they have a real problem updating their web site, order info and having basic customer service----still waiting for my item---not that it ever was in-stock, they don't have the things to begin with
You've made your point.
We are indeed a small family business run by 2 people (myself and my partner Michael). Some of our items are shipped direct from the manufacturer, the Obama plane being among these. After the inauguration, we received an overwhelming number of orders for the plane (over 400).
The information that Michael provided over the phone was correct. Holgate couldn't fill all of the orders within their standard time frame, as they weren't expecting the flood of orders for the item. We weren't alerted to the situation until our customers began to inquire, and immediately got in touch with Holgate. On top of this, Holgate had an employee leave in the middle of this ordeal, and it took some time for the new employee to backtrack and straighten out our orders. We dealt with this situation as quickly as we were able given the circumstances.
As far as lead times on our items, we offer handmade goods, many of which are custom made by crafters, and we always list the lead time in our item descriptions. There can be a wait of two weeks or even longer for custom made work, but it is not our intention to lead customers into believing that we are stocking these items.
Cecilia Leibovitz
Founder, & Creative Director
craftsburykids.com